Florida building collapse: 3 dead, boy among 35 pulled from debris, 99 missing

UPDATE: SURFSIDE, Florida — A beachfront condo tower collapsed in the Miami-area town of Surfside early Thursday morning, killing at least three people, and trapping dozens of other residents in rubble and twisted metal.

Scores of rescue units rushed to the partially collapsed building and teams of firefighters pulled 35 survivors so far from the concrete debris, including a young boy. Police said 99 people who were thought to be in the building at the time of the collapse remained unaccounted as of Thursday afternoon.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said authorities were hoping for additional rescues, but "we are bracing for some bad news, just given the destruction we're seeing."

During a news conference, Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett confirmed that at least one person had died and warned the death toll was likely to rise because the building was substantially full.

“The building is literally pancaked,” Burkett said. “That is heartbreaking because it doesn’t mean to me that we are going to be as successful as we wanted to be in finding people alive.”

Rescuers had pulled 35 people from the building and were continuing to look for more, Raide Jadallah, assistant fire chief of operations for Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, said at the news conference.

Among the survivors found in the rubble was a young boy whose rescue was captured on video (see it in the video player at the top of this article) after a witness saw the his wriggling fingers sticking out of the debris shortly after the collapse.

Nicholas Balboa, who lives nearby, told CNN that he was walking his dog around 1:30 a.m. when he felt the ground shake and saw plumes of dust and debris. He and another man went to the back of the building. Just as he was doubting anyone could survive the collapse, he heard someone screaming, he said.

"Finally, I got close enough to hear him, and (the trapped boy) said, 'Can you see my hand?'" Balboa said. "He was sticking his hand up ... through the debris. And I could see his hand and his fingers wiggling."

The boy, who was under a mattress and bed frame when he was found, was pulled out by rescuers a short time later.

At least ten people were treated at the scene and while several others were taken to the hospital, Burkett said. He also said about 15 families walked out of the building on their own.

Aventura Hospital and Medical Center, about 8 miles northwest of Surfside, had received three patients from the scene so far. Two had critical injuries while the third was listed in fair condition, a hospital spokesperson told ABC News.

“I’ve lived here my whole life and I’ve never seen anything like this happen,” the mayor said.

Burkett indicated roof work was being done on the building, but added that roofing work goes on in other buildings and he did not see how that could have caused the building to collapse.

Surfside City Commissioner Eliana Salzhauer told Miami ABC affiliate WPLG that the building’s county-mandated 40-year re-certification process was ongoing. Salzhauer said the process was believed to be proceeding without difficulty. A building inspector was on-site just hours before the collapse.

“I want to know why this happened,” Salzhauer said. “That’s really the only question. ... And can it happen again? Are any other of our buildings in town in jeopardy?”

Santo Mejil, 50, whose wife works in the building providing care to an elderly resident, told ABC News and the Miami Herald that “she said she heard a big explosion" at the time of the collapse.

"It felt like an earthquake,” Mejil said, noting that his wife and the elderly man she cared for were brought down by rescuers from a section of the building that was still intact after the units next door came crashing down.

Jennifer Carr was asleep in a neighboring building when she was awakened by a loud boom and her room shook. The building’s fire alarms then went off, and she and her family went outside and saw the collapse.

“It was devastation,” Carr said. “People were running and screaming.”

ORIGINAL REPORT: MIAMI, Florida — A "partial building collapse" near Miami Beach caused a massive emergency response early Thursday from Miami Dade Fire Rescue, according the department.

"#MDFR is on scene of a partial building collapse near 88 Street & Collins Avenue," a tweet from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said. It indicated more than 80 rescue units were at the location, including Technical Rescue Teams, along with assistance from other municipal fire departments.

Officials have not yet commented on how many people are hurt, but a firefighter on the scene could be heard saying there are multiple casualties. Witnesses told Miami ABC affiliate WPLG that people were trapped inside the building, and a search and rescue operation was underway, with crews carefully checking the wreckage and remaining structure for survivors.

At one point, firefighters could be seen pulling a boy from the rubble alive and rescuing other people from balconies. One eyewitness told WPLG that the collapse "looked like something from 9/11."

According to the Miami Herald, the collapsed 12-story tower is part of Champlain Towers, an ocean-side condo built in 1981 with more than 100 units. The building, located in the small beach town of Surfside - about 6 miles north of Miami Beach, had a few two-bedroom units currently on the market for $600,000 to $700,000.

“What I can tell you is the building is twelve floors. The entire back side of the building has collapsed,” said Sgt. Marian Cruz of Miami Dade Police.

The fire department has not yet said what may have caused the collapse, which photos and video from the scene showed affected about half of the tower. Piles of rubble and debris surrounded the area just outside the building; the collapse also sent a cloud of debris through the neighborhood, coating cars up to two blocks away with a layer of dust.

Police blocked nearby roads, and scores of fire and rescue vehicles, ambulances and police cars swarmed the area. People in neighboring buildings were evacuated to a nearby recreational center, witnesses told ABC News.

The area is a mix of new and old apartments, houses, condominiums and hotels, with restaurants and stores serving an international combination of residents and tourists. The community provides a stark contrast from bustle and glitz of South Beach with a slower-paced neighborhood feel.